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Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
The Complete Music for Violin and Piano
Grand Duo for Violin and Piano in A Major, D574 [21:50]
Fantasie in C major for violin and piano, D934 [23:26]
Sonata (Sonatina) for violin and piano in D major, D384 [11:50]
Sonata (Sonatina) for violin and piano in A minor, D385 [20:08]
Sonatina (Sonatina) in G minor, D408 [14:24]
Rondo brillant in B minor, D895 [14:21]
Sonata in A minor Arpeggione D821 [20:59]
György Pauk (violin), Peter Frankl (piano); Paul Olevsky (cello); Walter Hautzig (piano) (Arpeggione)
rec. 1964
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 95115 [57:14 + 70:01]

Brilliant did well to pick up this piece of classic 1960s music-making; brave too, some may think, given the age of the analogue tapes.

The Hungarians Pauk (b.1936) and Frankl (b.1935) were well-known for many years with plenty of exposure on recordings, in the concert hall and in radio station schedules. There is something pleasingly "old school" about both the playing and the no-frills close impact microphone placement. It's all so honest. Someone at Vox did a really splendid job with the analogue originals in 1996 when these two discs were first moved across the divide between iron-oxide stock and digital storage. They were then issued on three CDs in VoxBox CD3X3042 in company with the Schubert works for violin and orchestra. I cannot hear any hiss and the sound is a sturdy and direct platform for the integrity of Pauk and Frankl's faithful and moving playing.

The monoglot English liner-notes are extensive and to the point, as one would expect from Harry Halbreich. They extend to eight pages. My only slight cribs are as to the absence of details of the recording venue — my guess is Vienna — or anything about these musicians; the latter an unusual reversal. The two discs are presented sensibly in a single width case.

These scores may not be all that well-known so be prepared for music that majors on song in floodtide for which Mozart provided the igniting spark. Schubert adds an early romantic accent and fluidity. This is common to the more conventional works such as the Duo D574 and the Sonatas D384 and 385 as well as the more developed and mature pieces like the brilliantly imaginative Fantasy D934 and the Rondo brillant D895. Olevsky (1926-2013) and Hautzig (b.1921) are not at all familiar reputations but they do not let us down in the Arpeggione. Olevsky - full of amiable character - delivers a lovingly emotional cello line buoyant with vibrato. As for Hautzig, he is a faithful companion sharing Olevsky's approach.

Rarely do Schubert chamber sets get beyond the string quartets. This volume reaches the parts that few others manage and in doing so rewards the adventurous collector.

Rob Barnett

 

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